


Before our worlds part

by pixiechenle



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Coming of Age, M/M, Prom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:14:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26706562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pixiechenle/pseuds/pixiechenle
Summary: It´s Jaemin´s last prom in High School and Mark accompanies him as his date.
Relationships: Mark Lee/Na Jaemin
Kudos: 21





	Before our worlds part

Mark and Jaemin have grown up together. All of Mark´s earliest memories include Jaemin and vice-versa. They´ve always been each others reliable partner even through small kindergarten arguments, fights at soccer matches where Jaemin missed the goal and misconceptions if Mark truly loved Jaemin. But Mark has loved Jaemin for as long as he can remember. He has just always been there, never leaving Mark´s side.

Anyway. It´s Jaemin´s last prom night. Mark´s waiting in his car outside Jaemin´s house. He drums his fingers against the steering wheel, dressed in a suit without a bow or a tie. He´s pretty stressed. In the seventeen years of knowing Jaemin he hasn´t been late a single time. Mark calms his nerves, thinking that he´s just overreacting. And when the door to the big house opens and light beams out of the familiar home Mark confirms that he was just overthinking. Because all dressed in suits too; Jaemin waves his parents a good bye while Donghyuck, Jeno and Renjun all rush to the car. With quick movements Mark reaches to the side to lock the front-passenger seat´s car door. They boys stumble towards the door, making a scene when they realize nobody got shotgun and Mark laughs inside of the car. Jaemin walks towards them and shoves jokingly them away, waiting for the click sound and then opening the door. With over-exaggerated sad facial expressions Donghyuck, Jeno and Renjun get into the backseat. Mark cups Jaemin´s face and is about to kiss him but Jaemin pulls away.

“Not in front of the kids”, he says with a faked shocked voice. Mark chuckles but the joke doesn´t sit right with him, not when he hasn´t had the chance to even see Jaemin these days because of his final exams and the fact that Jaemin is always the one affectionate in public no matter the circumstances. 

“Ah c´mon guys you can kiss, we´ve literally heard you do the thing in the room next to us”, Donghyuck flickers in and they all laugh. The rest of the car ride to the school is not silent. Jeno tells everyone that he already has planned their graduation gifts to which Renjun chirps in saying that it´s probably something lame as matching plushies Jeno had given them on their birthdays. Donghyuck pokes fun at Renjun saying that he´s probably in love with Jeno anyways to which Renjun responds “rather in love with Jeno than being hetero like you are, Donghyuck”. It´s messy as always but Mark loves the safety that it´ll always be the same with them even if they graduate.

When they arrive Mark parks his car and they walk in a group towards the school gym where the small prom is held. Mark and Jaemin hold hands, Mark slowly rubs circles with his thumb over the back of Jaemin´s hand. Before going inside they decide to take one shot each (everyone but Mark, who insists on driving instead of walking later on) from Donghyuck´s gatorade bottle that he hid in the inner-pocket of his blazer. Renjun winces at the taste while Jeno chugs more than a shot.

Inside they´re met with other students and their dates. Jaemin pulls Mark away from the group, leaving them in a state of confusion. 

“I want you to show you to somebody”, Jaemin tugs his hand and tiptoes to see over the crowd when he spots a person who Mark doesn´t recognize at all. Jaemin excuses for himself and Mark when he drags Mark through groups of people.

Mark´s eyes widen. In front of him stands a blonde-haired petite girl with the most strikingly blue eyes Mark has ever seen. Mark´s heart sinks to the bottom of his chest.

“So Chaewon.. This is Mark”, he gestures his hands from Chaewon to Mark. Chaewon glances at Mark for a while but shifts his look back to Jaemin again. Mark feels so out of the moment. “And Mark… This is Chaewon”, Jaemin continues and nods proudly when he´s done. 

“Hi Mark. Jaemin has talked a lot about you, saying that you were his best friend and-”

His whole world crumbles when he hears the words best friend. He is Jaemin´s soulmate, not just his best friend. Renjun, Jeno and Donghyuck are Jaemin´s best friends. Not Mark. His ears are buzzing.

“You okay?” Jaemin asks Mark who hasn´t articulated a single word to this unknown Chaewon. 

“I.. Yeah, yeah. I´m okay. Nice to meet you”, Mark answers with a trace of resentment in his voice. They make small talk but Mark feels like throwing up. 

After leaving Chaewon Mark and Jaemin find Donghyuck sitting at a table all alone, cheeks red and eyes hazy. He's steadying up his face with one hand and biting his nails on the other hand. Jaemin giggles at the sight. Mark stays quiet though.

“Whatcha doing?” Jaemin asks when Mark and him sit down on each side of Donghyuck. Donghyuck just points to the dance floor where Jeno and Renjun are slow dancing to the sappy song playing, Renjun leaning his head against Jeno´s chest. It hurts when Mark remembers that´s how Jaemin and him had danced on Mark´s prom night too. It was a simpler time when Jaemin hadn't dyed his hair the peachy color he has now and when Mark still smelled soft cotton instead of the new cologne he uses these days. 

“Will you let me borrow you for a few seconds?” Jaemin asks, offering a dance. Mark accepts it warmly and they stand up, leaving Donghyuck alone again.

Jaemin and Mark sway slowly to the tact of the music. 

“I´m gonna miss this”, Jaemin hums and buries his face in Mark´s neck. Mark can´t form a single sentence before Jaemin crashes with his lips against Mark´s. 

This isn´t like Jaemin at all but Mark kisses Jaemin softly. Suddenly he feels tears streaming down Jaemin´s cheeks. Mark pulls away and cups Jaemin´s face.

“Sweetheart, what´s wrong?” Mark´s voice almost breaks at the end. He is so afraid that this will be their last kiss. 

“Nothin´, just being sentimental as usual”, Jaemin smiles through the tears. Mark pulls him into a tight hug as an answer.

The rest of the night is being spent by Donghyuck, Jeno and Renjun gradually becoming more drunk and it ends when Jaemin, who´s still sober even after a few more shots, decides that they should all go home when Donghyuck is at the point of almost passing out on the dance floor. 

Donghyuck falls asleep in the car resulting in Jeno and Renjun having to carry him outside and in to Jeno´s home where they´ll spend the remaining night.

Jaemin observes the suburbian neighborhood as they take off from Jeno´s house. A somber feeling is evident around the both of them.

“Stay the night?” Jaemin asks and caresses Mark´s arm when they are sitting in the car outside Jaemin´s house. 

“Yeah”, Mark agrees and parks the car. They sneak up to Jaemin´s room and throw their suits on the floor. 

Jaemin puts on his favorite worn-out pajama t-shirt he has had since he was fifteen and Mark chucks his shirt off. They crawl under the cover, Jaemin´s back pressed against Mark´s chest. Everything is so surreal and Mark thinks about Chaewon who Jaemin hadn´t even mentioned a single time before in his life. Mark plays with Jaemin´s hair and Jaemin hums a song they played at prom. 

“I don´t wanna grow up anymore”, Jaemin repeats for himself. Mark hears Jaemin´s muttering and holds him even closer. They don´t say a single word to each other. They both know what´s about to happen in the morning when they wake up together, for a last time.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this inspired by the song Pope Is A Rockstar by SALES. I don´t know if I portrayed the melancholia of losing a friend and lover in a good way but Mark´s viewpoint is how it felt for me losing someone I really used to love.


End file.
